Indian equity
benchmarks gained over half a percent on Monday amid positive global cues and
easing crude oil prices. Markets opened higher and sustained gains for most
part of the session as traders took support with provisional data from the NSE
showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs
1,659.27 crore on April 5, 2024. Traders took encouragement as a recent
bi-monthly survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from March 2 to
March 11, 2024 showed that consumer confidence in India has soared to its
highest level since mid-2019. The survey, which included 6,083 respondents,
with females comprising 50.8 percent of the sample, revealed a significant
uptick in consumer sentiment. Markets added some gains in late afternoon
session, taking support with a latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
showing that India's foreign exchange reserves rose to a new high for the third
straight week, reaching $645.58 billion in the week ended March 29. The total
reserves rose by $2.95 billion in the previous week. Some optimism also came as
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has put out a report maintaining a neutral
outlook on the finances of Indian states for the fiscal year 2024-2025 (FY25),
showing States' aggregate revenue deficit is projected to be 0.4 per cent of
gross domestic product (GDP) for FY25, down from 0.5 per cent in FY24. The
buoyancy in sentiment continued, led by sectorial tailwinds and Q4 earnings
growth expectations. The Nifty, Sensex scaled fresh all-time highs in today's
session but pared some of the early gains to settle around the day's highs.
Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 494.28 points or 0.67% to 74,742.50 and the CNX
Nifty was up by 152.60 points or 0.68% points to 22,666.30.
The US markets ended mostly in
red on Monday as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release
of closely watched inflation data later in the week. The Labor Department is
scheduled to release its reports on consumer and producer inflation in the
month of March on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Street currently
expects consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent in March following a 0.4 percent
increase in February. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy
prices, are also expected to climb by 0.3 percent in March after rising by 0.4
percent in February. The annual rate of consumer price growth is expected to
accelerate to 3.4 percent in March from 3.2 percent in February, while the
annual rate of core consumer price growth is expected to slow to 3.7 percent
for 3.8 percent. Producer prices are expected to rise by 0.3 percent in March
after climbing by 0.6 percent in February, while the annual rate of producer
growth is expected to jump to 2.3 percent from 1.6 percent. The inflation data
could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Federal
Reserve officials have repeatedly said they need greater confidence inflation
is slowing before cutting rates. On the sectoral front, most of the major
sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster
close by the broader markets. Airline stocks showed a strong move to the
upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumping by 1.8 percent.
Crude oil futures ended lower on
Monday amid easing geopolitical tensions following Israel removing its troops
from Southern Gaza. According to private report, Israel has reduced the number
of soldiers from southern Gaza as ceasefire talks are going on. However, a Hamas
official reportedly said that no progress was made at the new round of Gaza
ceasefire talks in Cairo, also attended by delegations from Israel. Besides,
private report said that China Construction Bank had filed a liquidation
petition in Hong Kong against leading Chinese property developer Shimao Group
Holdings has raised some concerns about the outlook for oil demand from the
world's second largest economy. Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery
fell $0.48 or about 0.55% to settle at $86.43 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery dropped $0.79 or 0.86% to
$90.38 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee settled flat on
Monday as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by the
strength of the American currency in the overseas market. Traders found some
support as India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has put out a report maintaining
a neutral outlook on the finances of Indian states for the fiscal year
2024-2025 (FY25), showing States' aggregate revenue deficit is projected to be
0.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY25, down from 0.5 per cent
in FY24. Besides, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showing that India's foreign
exchange reserves rose to a new high for the third straight week, reaching
$645.58 billion in the week ended March 29. The total reserves rose by $2.95
billion in the previous week. On the global front, dollar paused on Monday as
investors trained their sights on U.S. inflation data later this week, while
the yen slipped close to 34-year lows as traders remained on alert for any
potential action in Tokyo to support the weakening currency. Finally, the rupee
ended flat with previous close of 83.31 on Friday.
The FIIs as per Monday's data
were net buyers in equity segment, while they were net sellers in debt segment.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 13097.09 crore against gross
selling of Rs 11182.00 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 1138.24 crore with gross sales of Rs 2764.11 crore. Besides, in the
hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 85.98 crore against gross selling of
Rs 76.19 crore.
The US markets ended mostly lower
on Monday as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the
release of closely watched inflation data later in the week. Asian markets were
trading mostly in green in early deals on Tuesday amid investors awaited
business confidence surveys from Australia and consumer confidence data from
Japan, with focus also on U.S. inflation numbers to assess the Federal
Reserve's rate cut path. Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Monday on
account of hectic buying in Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC and
Larsen & Toubro companies' stocks. Today, markets are likely to make
positive start on firm cues from other Asian markets. Falling crude oil prices
overnight may also provide some support to domestic sentiments. Traders may get support as European
Parliament think tank expert, Angelos Delivorias said that India's GDP growth
exceeding that of China reflects New Delhi's emergence as a formidable economic
powerhouse in the global arena. Meanwhile, traders may take note of private
report that India's consumer price inflation likely eased to a five-month low
of 4.91% in March but was still above the Reserve Bank of India's 4%
medium-term target as food price rises persist. However, foreign fund outflows
likely to put pressure on domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors
(FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 684.68 crore on April 8, provisional data from
the NSE showed. Further, some cautiousness may also prevail in the markets as
Reserve Bank of India in its report said frequent weather shocks caused by
climate change pose challenges for the monetary policy as well as downside
risks to economic growth. Global average temperatures are on a rise, with
accompanying increase in extreme weather events (EWE), and the economic and
social impact of global warming is becoming increasingly evident.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
22,666.30
|
22,578.66
|
22,725.61
|
BSE
Sensex
|
74,742.50
|
74,478.62
|
74,937.85
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Steel
|
482.56
|
164.90
|
163.75
|
166.50
|
Power
Grid
|
144.73
|
281.50
|
278.96
|
284.11
|
Adani
Ports
|
140.39
|
1353.00
|
1332.69
|
1377.64
|
Wipro
|
133.20
|
480.25
|
475.10
|
488.50
|
ONGC
|
130.11
|
270.10
|
267.14
|
272.54
|
- JSW Steel has reported the crude
steel production for Q4FY24 at 6.79 million tonnes, that grew by 3% as against
6.58 million tonnes in Q4FY23 on consolidated basis.
- Axis Bank's subsidiary -- Axis MF
has partnered with Enparadigm for exclusive learning journeys, to elevate the
performance and productivity of their frontline, mid and, to an extent, senior
employees.
- Reliance Industries' telecom arm
-- Reliance Jio Infocomm has added 35.98 lakh customers (wireless subscribers)
in February 2024.
- Bharti Airtel has deployed
additional sites in Buldhana district to densify its network.